Through prayer, God is opening the doors to reach a new village, Mei Mong, about an hour and a half from where we live. This village is linked by a bridge of 50 meters (about 164 feet) that broke quite some time ago and is very deteriorated. I do not find the bridge easy to cross, but the villagers cross it by motorbike, even loaded with two or three people or merchandise.

We visited the village because, little by little, the villagers have been considering our Bible workers and the career missionary as spiritual authorities, and they invited us to witness a “purification ritual.” The purification ritual was being performed on what they believe to be the spirit of a woman who died giving birth to one of her babies a few months ago. The people of this culture believe that when a person dies in such a circumstance, it is because spirits curse them. They believe that at least four purification rituals must be completed within a certain period of time to scare these spirits away.

This was the fourth and final ritual sacrifice to be made, and only a “doctor” with experience in these traditions can decide how many animals must be sacrificed for the offering to be satisfactory. This sacrifice consisted of approximately: one cow, two to five pigs, one dog, one duck, and between five to ten hens. The blood was deposited in jugs that were placed outdoors in a space prepared for the ritual.

Additionally, everything belonging to this person was burned: clothes, all personal belongings, kitchen utensils, and the whole house. When we arrived at the end of the ritual, they had already burned everything, even the clothes of the woman’s children. Her two youngest daughters were at the scene, and each now had only the clothes they were wearing. The rest was burned because it was “cursed.”

We thank God that we could spend a moment with the roughly 50 people of this village and talk to them about the Holy Spirit and God’s power to scare away evil spirits simply by His presence.

We prayed for them, and they were very grateful to us for that.

We spend much time praying with our team so that through the help of the Comforter, this village can know the liberation they may have through the true and most valuable Sacrifice in the history of the universe — the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Please remember us and those we serve in your prayers.

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